World on a Plate
by Pseudinymous
Summary: Maddie takes a solo excursion deep into the Ghost Zone, only to discover that a small subsection worships her as one of the two heroic and all-powerful creator-beings. But they don't want her to go home, and do not understand that the Zone cannot support human life for very long.
1. Exploring

**Author** **'** **s Note:  
** Oi. Welcome! This is a more serious story because I don't quite have the energy to do crack right now. The idea came from a story of Cordria's ( _Judge, Jury, Executioner_ ), but any actual relation to that is minimal. I mean, most of the relation is "Hey, let's throw Maddie into the Ghost Zone!". So, whatever.

This isn't going to be a very long fic, (expect 3 - 5 chapters) but I'm looking forward to putting it on figurative paper.

-Sudo

* * *

 **World on a Plate  
** A fanfic by Pseudinymous

~ **1** ~  
\- _Exploring_ -

* * *

It was a dark and lonely place in here.

And yet, it was also blindingly bright, horrifically green, a sea of unnaturalness that drifted about in its sickening ways. Maddie was as fascinated by it as she was unsettled — the scientist within her yearned to go further, to gain a greater understanding, while the more human parts of her mind were urging her hands to turn the Spectre Speeder around right now and go back through the portal. How could she not love a place that drew such primal conflict within her? Sure, it was a strange kind of love, but—

Oh. A dead end.

Maddie had been too busy looking out of the side window to see out the windscreen properly, and had needed to halt the Speeder with a magnificent jolt. Narrowly she avoided crushing the vehicle into a twisted chunk of metal against solid rock — the island straight in front of her was massive, and somehow she had missed it coming.

But, this didn't phase her.

Maddie threw the stick into reverse, and began to navigate around that hulking mass of land. Grass that wouldn't have been out of place in the Real World grew over the edges and held clumps of soil together with its roots above, sturdy and thick. Even out here, somehow some sort of fundamentally biological nature existed. It indicated that the eerie green glow that permeated the Zone was enough for a sustainable photosynthesis process, and that there must have been water somewhere.

That was, unless the grass was a rouse. Perhaps the grass was instead made of ectoplasm, even if it didn't exhibit that trademark incandescent light. This warranted further investigation.

The ghost hunter drove the Spectre Speeder to the top of the plateau. All was quiet here, and the island was otherwise barren aside from the fresh flush of grassy shoots. No ghosts were around at all (Maddie wouldn't have risked it if there were), so, and hesitantly, she opened the door and took a step outside. Her feet made a soft and satisfying thump as they hit the ground, and she kneeled down with a glass bottle in her hand. Maddie would take a sample of this alien grass back to the lab, and she would analyse it as one of her many curiosities.

Jack didn't take interest in this sort of thing. It really was a shame that all he cared about was the ghosts themselves, because so many other questions existed about this place that would never be answered purely by ghost hunting. Why was there oxygen? If there is no centre mass for gravity, then what is the downwards force that ensured falling meant falling (at least conceivably) forever? Did each point in the Ghost Zone have a definite mirror point to the real world, or could two portals be opened in the same place but lead to different areas? How did the Ghost Zone form, and why was it here? She suspected those last two questions were like asking how the universe came to be, but as a scientist she wanted to ask them, anyway.

… As a human, too, she still wanted to ask.

The grass and dirt was easier to pull out than she'd expected, and Maddie was able to take a heaping clump in her hand and throw it straight into the jar, no need for any tools or shovels. She screwed the lid on tight, put it back in the Speeder, and began to climb in.

"Hello!" someone greeted brightly from the driver's seat.

Maddie's hand was nearly on her heart. How had she failed to notice? A ghost had gotten behind her, gotten into the Spectre Speeder, and was now giving her the most aggravating happy smile she had ever known. A second later she was reaching for her gun, only to find it had for all practical purposes disappeared.

Her eyes were wide. She looked at the ghost properly, now, horror filling her. Fighting and escape plans filled her mind. But it stared back with boyish eyes, a friendly tone, and… a very feminine face.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to —"

" _Get out of the vehicle_!" Maddie snarled, her hands curled into dangerous-looking fists, and her stance changed to match. If nothing else, it was effective. The ghost yelped, but instead of getting out it managed to jump further backwards into the Speeder, where it curled up in the passenger seat and held its hands protectively over its head.

It was unlike anything Maddie had ever seen. She was totally unarmed and probably quite unable to hurt the ghost in question, but even this was enough to give it the fright of its metaphorical life. A deep maternal pang nearly made the hunter feel _sorry_ for it, of all things, which of course meant a surge of disgust shot through her system to keep that feeling company.

But now came the real question: What to do?

The ghost was terrified of her. It hadn't uncurled itself from that foetal position since she'd yelled at it, and the shivering made it look as though it was suffering from a severe case of hypothermia. Perhaps this was some sort of trap? And yet, that was not a smell this situation reeked of. The gun the ghost had stolen lay discarded inside the Speeder, easily within her reach. She could grab it and shoot the ghost at a moment's notice, and this would (at least in theory) end the confrontation once and for all.

Was that right, though?

She had to treat every ghost as though it was dangerous — it was the only safe way to go about things, and in her experience it was the correct assumption 9.9 times out of 10 anyway. But this one was pathetic. Her gut told her there wasn't any bluff to call.

… In spite of herself, she found the call to science teasing her to take this further, to get to the bottom of this strange appearance. Perhaps she could capture the ghost and use it.

Slowly, Maddie got back into the Speeder. Her expression was steady, but not welcoming.

"What do you want?" she asked.


	2. Shifting

**Author's Note:  
** Hmm… Now she's really gone and done it.

Normally I don't like motherly characters (anyone who knows my upbringing will be able to guess preeeeeeetty quickly why), but I've always had a bit of a soft spot for Maddie. She does her best, for everyone.

Since this fic is just a side project, I'm only doing small chapters. For me, it helps keep the update stream going. I hope nobody minds! I might combine them into suitably larger ones once it's all over.

* * *

 **World on a Plate  
** A fanfic by Pseudinymous

~ 2 ~  
\- _Shifting_ -

* * *

It was only now that Maddie had truly begun to examine the ghost's features, rather than look at it as… well, just another ghost. As it started to uncurl on the passenger seat, a clump of black hair was released from the death grip of its hands, and those big innocent eyes came out again. Unlike many ghosts its scleras were white, while the irises had settled on a tricky purple glow.

"Please have mercy…" the ghost whimpered, trying to look just about anywhere other than Maddie's face. "I don't want to die!"

What in… a section of Maddie's brain was starting to fall to pieces over this. Part of her wanted to remind the ghost that _by virtue of being a ghost_ it wasn't all that likely to die of anything, but how did she really know that? She and Jack may have been experts on ghosts, but they were certainly a long way away from knowing everything. Maybe ghosts _could_ die. Or maybe this particular purple-eyed variety of ghost, which she had never encountered before, could… but the others continued existing day in, day out, until the end of time. Who knew?

"Ehh…" the ghost hunter hesitated, swinging herself into the driver's seat in a slow and deliberate motion. She decided not to pick up the gun along the way — it was harmless to humans, and she was trying to get this ghost to open up, not shut straight back down again. "… I won't hurt you if you tell me what you're doing here."

About six percent of the ghost relaxed. The other 94 percent was wound tightly like a coil, ready to leap into the air (and subsequently into the ceiling, if it tried). Maddie tried not to picture the image too hard, as it was amusing in a situation where she almost definitely shouldn't be laughing. The ghost seemed to detect some sort of change in her, however, and its anxiety was starting to show up more as a certain shyness than anything else.

"This sucks, I've made such a fool of myself…" it muttered, dragging its fingers through its hair and letting out a small, discontented whine. "This wasn't how this was supposed to go."

Maddie blinked at it, her face falling into a confused frown. "I'm sorry? You better explain yourself now, or I—"

"Okay, okay!" it said. "I-I just have to take you to our village, Great Lady. We want to welcome you!" the voice trailed off, but the ghost added to the end, with a pathetic little murmur: "Please come to our village."

 _Great Lady_.

The ghost hunter took a moment to process that. "What did you just call me?"

Its face went… whiter than white, and gained an unknown, and perhaps worrying, oily sheen. "Not formal enough?!" it stammered. "Oh my goodness… I'm sorry, O Great Lady of the Realm! Please don't—"

This was too much. Maddie tuned out at the smattering of violent and increasingly horrific tortures listed by the ghost, which it apparently believed her capable of. There was a heavy implication that she was also, as it were, capable of doing many of them merely by thought. The situation was well and truly up there with some of the most bizarre things she had ever experienced, and that was quite a feat when you considered one of her most recent tangles with Phantom.

"That's enough!" Maddie insisted, putting her hand out and stopping the ghost's verbal diarrhoea mid-sentence. Its mouth looked panicked, as if it still needed to be moving. "Just please, a straight answer, okay? Why are you calling me all of these names? I'm a ghost hunter, heaven knows you're supposed to run away or attack me, not _worship_ me! You're speaking to me as if I'm some sort of god to you."

A hinge broke in the ghost's jaw, and it hung loose, hanging on one side but shut on the other. The silence said all she needed to know.

"Oh my God," said Maddie.

"B-but…" the ghost muttered back. "But you have the jumpsuit! The goggles! You wear her clothes, you have her voice!"

"You think I'm a god…"

"You _are_! Please come with me! My people need you—"

"I'm not coming with you," said Maddie, firmly, and the ghost's 'heart' broke right in front of her. "Your —" she paused to use air quotes, " _people_ don't need me. I'm not your god. How could anyone think that?"

"W-we only exist because of you," the ghost stammered. "We owe everything we have to you! You created the lands and our people, O Great Lady… don't you remember?"

No, Maddie thought, she most definitely did not.

The ghost was dangerously close to curling back up into a foetal position, but Maddie wasn't interested in this. In fact, to be perfectly honest, she wasn't sure what she was supposed to do now. This strange purple-eyed ghost was nearly a wreck in front of her, she couldn't help but feel a flare of curiosity at this whole _god_ business, and she had at least another three hours to kill before she was due to return to the lab.

But just because this ghost was weak and pathetic, didn't mean the others of its 'kind' would be. They were probably using such a disappointing specimen to lure her in and capture her. What better a way to convince her than the tantalising idea that she was a part of some sort of creation myth?

But curiosity wasn't going to bring down Maddeline Fenton. She was better than that. There were plenty of other interesting things to study in this strange realm, anyhow.

She'd take this ghost back to the lab and give it to Jack for further analysis. That's what she'd do.

The small ectoplasmic lump murmured under the sheer weight of her gaze, as if it was being weighed down by something invisible and very heavy. Maddie's gaze did that to people — first you found your knees getting weak and then all of a sudden you were buckling, and obeying every command.

"Listen," said Maddie. Her eyes were nearly glowing. "I'll make you a deal, ghost."

Silvery tendrils of hope slivered from the ghost's soft aura, and it was only unfortunate that it was not so much a metaphor as it was a proper physical description. Perhaps, Maddie's brain told her, _hope_ wasn't the best word here. _Hope_ had only flashed across the ghost's eyes for a splinter of a second, and its expression now indicated a deep-seated and highly dangerous hunger for… she wasn't sure, exactly, but it probably wasn't going to be good.

"A _deal_?" said the ghost, twirls of white energy escaping its being, "We do not make deals with gods, O Great Lady. You will come to bless our village. I am deeply sorry for the inept doorkeeper; he was eager to prove himself but seems to have failed miserably. He does not know how to handle a divine being such as yourself."

The ghost had… Maddie blinked at the ghost. It looked the same, sure, but there wasn't a chance it was the same ghost as it was three minutes ago. Her back arched in dread she couldn't contain, and her attention was drawn to the ecto-gun she so unwisely hadn't bothered to pick up, lying on the floor of the Spectre Speeder.

That was it, she was right — this _was_ a rouse. It was going to drag her to this strange place to toy with her. It was the sort of thing that could rightfully get her killed, and she knew when gigs like this were up. Now she had to get that ghost the hell out of the Speeder (with as much violence as necessary), and then drive on home as fast as she could.

Her muscles twitched. One wrong move could prove fatal. There wasn't going to be a second chance. If she could just lie enough to satisfy it, then maybe…

"As the divine being of your world…" said Maddie, in the most careful and measured voice she had ever known herself to use, "I will come to bless your village. Please tell me where to go."

But then one of the silvery tendrils snatched her by the wrist, an otherworldly tingle shooting up her arm. "We have invented faster methods of travel for Exalted Ones such as yourself," said the ghost.

Suddenly, Maddie was struggling to find her vocal chords. "What?" she stammered.

" _PREPARE FOR TRANSPORT_ ," said a computerised voice, which had apparently been planted within the ghost's throat. And then the next thing she knew, she was gone.


End file.
